@UNRWA
Heavy bombardment & resumption of military operation have made the situation in #Gaza desperate.
Conditions required to deliver aid DO NOT exist.
Thursday, December 7, 2023
All information is valid as of 4 December 2023 at 22:30 local time and covers 4-5 December
Day 59-60 of Hostilities
KEY POINTS
Key Points
The Gaza Strip
- On 5 December, UNRWA was able to confirm that at least two additional colleagues were killed. In total, 132 UNRWA colleagues have been killed since 7 October.
- Over 1.9 million people (or over 85 per cent of the population) have been displaced across the Gaza Strip since 7 October.
- On 5 December, one UNRWA shelter in Khan Younis was evacuated. Verification of details and casualty figures is ongoing.
- As of 5 December, almost 1.2 million internally displaced persons (IDPs) were sheltering in 155 UNRWA installations across all five governorates of the Gaza Strip, including in the North and Gaza City.
- More than 1 million IDPs were sheltering in 98 facilities in the Middle, Khan Younis and Rafah areas. Of those, 64 are in Khan Younis and Rafah.
- In the period between 21 October and 4 December, UNRWA distributed 10,059 metric tons (MT) of flour.
- In the same period, UNRWA delivered to Gaza:
- 323 MT of medicines and medical supplies with a total value of more than US$ 1.3 million.
- Nearly 10 million litres of water.
- 2.5 million units of high energy biscuits.
- Over 990,000 cans of protein-based food, including beans, chicken, beef, and canned meat.
- Nearly 1.9 million units of dairy items (cheese).
- Other food items including dates, cake, and juice.
- Non-food items (NFI) including 23,025 mattresses; 39,680
family hygiene kits; 1,1 million diapers; 47,530 blankets; and 90,240
cleaning supply items.
The West Bank, including East Jerusalem
- On 4 December, Israeli Security Forces (ISF) conducted search and arrest operations in Jalazone refugee camp, Ramallah, in Aqbat Jabr and Ein el-Sultan refugee camps, Jericho.
- An ISF search and arrest operation was also reported in Dheisheh refugee camp, Bethlehem, during which 16 Palestinians were reportedly detained. This delayed the start of UNRWA operations in the camp, including of UNRWA four schools.
- On the same day, an ISF search and arrest operation and exchange of fire were reported in Kalandia refugee camp and in Kafr 'Aqab. One Palestine Refugee was killed, and 33 others were injured, including 17 by live ammunition. One ISF soldier was also reported injured. UNRWA services were running when the operation started, with students and education staff sheltered in place in the four schools in the camp, and patients and health staff staying in the health centre. These installations are located at the entrance of the refugee camp, overlooking the main street. Installations were evacuated, and staff and refugees were released once the operation was over.
- On the night of 5 December, the ISF conducted a search and arrest operation in Jenin city and Jenin refugee camp. ISF entered with bulldozers, and infrastructure sustained damage, in the refugee camp, the city centre and in the vicinity of a governmental hospital. ISF conducted another search and arrest operation in Jenin refugee camp in the afternoon, with confrontations taking place around the UNRWA health centre inside the camp. Six Palestinians were reportedly injured by live ammunition.
- An overnight ISF search and arrest operation took place in Dheisheh refugee camp, as a result of which four Palestinians were reportedly injured with live ammunition, including one minor and one UNRWA guard who was on duty at the UNRWA girls’ school.
- An ISF search and arrest operation took place in Kalandia refugee camp early in the morning. One Palestine Refugee was killed, and two persons detained.
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| A child on a bike among the rubble of collapsed buildings in Gaza City, 25 November 2023. © 2023 UNRWA Photo by Ashraf Amra |
Overall Situation
The Gaza Strip
- According to the Ministry of Health (MoH) in Gaza, between 7 October and 5 December, at least 16,248 Palestinians were killed in Gaza, about 70 per cent of whom are reported to be women and children. Many more are missing, presumably under the rubble.
- Overall, around 1,200 Israelis and foreign nationals have been killed in Israel, according to Israeli Authorities, the vast majority on 7 October (OCHA).
The West Bank
- According to OCHA, since 7 October, 249 Palestinians, including 65 children, have been killed by ISF in the West Bank. In addition, eight people, including one child, have been killed by Israeli settlers.
Humanitarian Access, Protection of Civilians
The Gaza Strip
- On 4 December, four incidents were reported impacting UNRWA
schools and IDPs sheltering there. While verification of details and
casualty figures are ongoing, initial reports indicated:
- One school in Beit Lahiya was directly hit, causing severe damage to the school and killing and injuring many IDPs (exact figures were not yet confirmed);
- One school in Deir el Balah was indirectly impacted by an armed conflict incident, injuring two IDPs.
- One school in Gaza City was directly impacted, as a result 50 IDPs were reportedly killed and dozens injured.
- One school in Nuseirat camp was indirectly impacted, reportedly resulting in around 50 IDPs injured.
- On 5 December, two incidents directly impacting UNRWA schools in Khan Younis have been reported, resulting in at least one person killed and three injuries, and the evacuation of one of the shelters. Verification of details and casualty figures is ongoing.
- 126 incidents impacting UNRWA facilities have been reported since the beginning of the war, with some facilities hit multiple times. 33 different UNRWA installations were directly hit and 57 different installations sustained collateral damage. UNRWA has also received reports of the military use of its facilities on at least five occasions.
- UNRWA estimates that in total at least 273 IDPs sheltering in UNRWA shelters have been killed and at least another 966 injured since the start of the war. UNRWA is still verifying the number of casualties caused by incidents that impacted its facilities, and notes that these figures do not include some reported casualties where the number of injuries could not be determined.
UNRWA Response
The Gaza Strip
UNRWA Shelters
- In total, almost 1.2 million displaced people are now sheltering in 155 UNRWA installations.
- The average number of IDPs in UNRWA shelters is 10,700, more than four times their capacity.
Health
- On average, there are 10,500 medical consultations in UNRWA health centres per day.
- On 4 December, nine (out of 22) UNRWA health centres were still operational in the Middle and Southern areas, recording 9,126 patients visits, including Palestine Refugees and non-refugees.
- Midwives are providing care for post-natal and high-risk pregnant women at the nine operational health centres. There are an estimated 50,000 pregnant women in Gaza, with more than 180 giving birth every day. A total of 313 post-natal and high-risk pregnancy cases were attended to at health centres on 4 December. In addition, post-natal care continued in the shelters, with 1,356 cases attended to since 7 October.
- On 4 December, at least 209 children were vaccinated at seven health centres, according to the national vaccination programme, bringing the total number vaccinated to 13,583 since 4 November.
- On the same day, emergency dental services (bleeding, swellings, trauma and extraction) were provided to 165 cases at seven health centres.
- UNRWA continued to provide health care to IDPs at shelters through 103 medical teams on 4 December. 273 health workers attended to a total of 11,388 patients. Each team is composed of 1-2 doctors and a nurse.
- In total, the medical team responded to 919 mental health cases, including individual consultations, awareness sessions, and support for gender-based violence cases.
Psychosocial support (PSS)
- UNRWA teams, including 196 social workers in the shelters, provided psychosocial first aid and other specialized protection services to IDPs. Since 7 October, 94,280 IDPs people have been reached.
Food Security
- UNRWA distribution of flour outside of shelters continued on 5 December in the southern governorates. A total of 50,280 families have been reached so far.
Water, Sanitation and Hygiene (WASH)
- On 4 and 5 December, UNRWA continued to operate nine water wells pumping about 10,000 cubic metres to provide potable and domestic water supply. Potable water trucking operations to the shelters in Rafah and Khan Younis areas continue.
- Shelters in Rafah began to receive potable water through tankers from the Coastal Municipalities Water Utility.
- Deir Balah UNICEF Desalination Plant stopped due to security reasons.
- Solid waste collection from the camps, emergency shelters and transfer to landfills continued in the Middle, Khan Younis and Rafah areas on 4 and 5 December. About 55 loadings were transferred to temporary dumping sites on 3 December. There is an urgent need for additional sanitation trucks and vehicles.
- Emergency transfer service of solid waste from shelters
continued with available resources. There is a shortage of sanitation
trucks and vehicles. A private contractor started to support the
collection and transfer of solid waste and preparation for a temporary
dumping site in Rafah.
Quote from Juliette Touma, UNRWA Director of Communications
“It is not just that there is no safe place to go – it is also that there is nowhere to go.”
#HearTheirVoices
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